Assistant Manager – Merchandising

Confidential Company

To drive product innovation, optimize inventory performance, and elevate customer experience for the Temple Jewellery & Heritage Collection by leveraging deep market insights and strong cross functional collaboration across design, manufacturing, retail, and marketing teams. The role leads the complete merchandising lifecycle—from concept development to store launch—while managing international operations with a heightened focus on the Oceania region.

Primary Responsibilities

Product Development and Range Building:

• Develop assortments grounded in South Indian ethnic preferences.

• Collaborate with design teams and artisans to develop concept sketches, prototypes, weight estimations, CAD models, and ensure accuracy in motif detailing in relation to antique and traditional jewellery.

• Work with 22K/24K gold standards, hallmarking requirements, weight ranges, stone additions, and karigar craftsmanship guidelines.

  
  

Inventory Management and Sales Performance:

• Create forecasts based on regional buying behavior, festival cycles (Pongal, Ugadi, Onam, etc), gold price fluctuations, and historical selling patterns.

• Manage core vs. fashion SKUs, ideal weight ranges, reorder suggestions, ageing analysis, and inter-branch transfers.

• Track sell-through, gold weight productivity, category contribution, VI (value index), and top-performing motifs/designs.

• Work on gold rate–based pricing, labour charges, value additions, making charges, and ensure margin consistency despite gold price volatility.

  
  

Market Analysis and Customer Insights:

• Capture variances in jewellery preference — Temple, Vanki, Ottiyanam, heavy bridal, Nakshi, antique gold, long harams, Kasavu-inspired, Palakka, Manga-shaped patterns, etc.

• Benchmark leading regional jewellery on design trends, weight categories, making charges, craftsmanship, and festive offerings.

• Monitor gold price trends, purchase sentiment, inflation impact, and incorporate insights into buying & assortment planning.

• Evaluate walk-in feedback, return reasons, customization demand, and usage occasions to drive assortment correctness.

  
  

Collaboration With Internal & External Stakeholders

• Partner with design, procurement, retail, supply chain, QC, marketing, and finance for seamless execution across jewellery lifecycle stages.

• Provide range training, product storyboards, hero SKU details, craftsmanship narratives, and VM display guidelines.

• Collaborate to create catalogue shoots, festive campaigns, digital content, and regional storytelling aligned with the temple jewellery theme.

  
  

Project Conceptualisation:

• Lead temple jewellery Collection themes from ideation, mood boards, prototyping, casting, finishing, QC, to final launch for heritage/ antique and Traditional jewellery.

• Own T&A schedules for sampling, approvals, costing, production, and rollout to stores.

• Address risks around delays, weight variance, QC rejections, assortment gaps, and production bottlenecks.

• Conduct sell-through and product attribute analyses; derive learnings to refine future ranges.